A Not So Perfect Valentine's Day
by laurzz
Summary: DannyLindsay. A slightly late Valentine's Day one-shot. Set S7. 'It was safe to say as much as Danny Messer detested Valentine's Day, he didn't let his wife suffer and never failed to pull out all the stops to impress her...'


**A/N: Hi guys! So this has been my little project this week thanks to Montana05-Cowboy16-Forever07. (Actually come to think of it, 'little'? hah! that's a lie - this story's word count is longer than my thesis that I have to write next year, but hey ho). I got a lovely PM from her earlier in the week asking for a Valentine's Day story, and well because Fred and I like to please we've worked this up from somewhere. Not the typical Valentine's Day story, but I wanted to something a little different (for a change, hah) and didn't really want to do the whole sit down at a nice restaurant... and in keeping to the mass of Anna goodies we've gotten tonight, I think this story is quite in-keeping to the Anna/Lindsay treat. (I'm rambling epically. It's three-am, please don't sue... you won't get much; I'm a _very_ poor student!) **

**So basically - Laura's written a Valentine's Day story and Fred hopes you like it! :) **

* * *

Running her fingertips over her now smooth legs, Lindsay Messer smiled as decided she was happy with the silky smooth texture. Usually she wasn't one for making a _massive_ effort. The spark was still there in her marriage; in fact it was very much there... but she and Danny had reached the stage where it didn't really matter if her legs were smooth. Her hair didn't make a difference, nor did how she applied her make-up. Things were comfortable between them. They were happy, in love and quite frankly didn't need the cosmetics anymore.

Today though... today was going to be a little different.

Over the years, Lindsay had been spoilt on the consumer 'holiday' that secretly most women quite enjoyed, despite the hype and pressure that was thrust upon near enough everyone to conform. Every year Danny bitched how it wasn't right that people were encouraged to be romantic on just one day out of the year; but every year he trumped himself with his efforts. He'd ranged from a bouquet of flowers, a bottle of wine and a home-cooked dinner. She'd received teddy bears, chocolates and a fire-hazard's amount of candles... She'd even been completely surprised one year wherein she had been absolutely positive that he'd forgotten what date it was – only for him to surprise her with an upmarket table booking at a restaurant they'd both wanted to try but neither had the balls to spend that amount on a meal.

It was safe to say as much as Danny Messer detested Valentine's Day, he didn't let his wife suffer and never failed to pull out all the stops to impress her... not that she needed impressing.

So this year, Lindsay had prepared herself... and a few little surprises for him.

"So baby, what did we say the plan was?"

"Daddy makes breakfast."

Turning to the little cherub sat on the closed toilet, Lindsay pulled a dramatic face, indicating to her daughter that she was slightly off. "Babe, what time is it?"

Lucy shrugged dramatically. "Me no know."

"Well, what did we just eat?"

"Cheese, crackers and that green stuff that tastes horrid."

"And do we eat cheese, crackers and cucumber for breakfast usually?"

"Um... otays, so Daddy gets home from work?"

Lindsay nodded as she rinsed her legs with the shower head. "And what do we do?"

"We write our love cards for my fwiends!"

"Yes, exactly," Lindsay smiled. "You and Daddy write your Valentine's Day cards for all of your friends and then where is Lucy going?"

"Nana's!" She squealed excitedly.

"And what is Nana and Lucy doing?"

"Eatin' pink frostin'!"

"Oh, are we?" Lindsay smirked over her shoulder at her daughter, who was 'reading' _People_ magazine upside-down.

"Nana said so." Lucy informed her mother as she glanced over the corner of the magazine, "Daddy said it was okies."

"Well, Mommy might just have to have a little talk with Daddy about that," Lindsay teased. "And if Daddy asks, where are Mommy's presents?"

"What presents?" Lucy attempted a wink.

"You superstar," Lindsay praised. "Exactly; what presents?"

"Mommy said she didn't gets you presents this year."

"Just like we rehearsed; well done, baby girl."

Smiling proudly, Lucy jumped down from the toilet seat and crossed the small bathroom and ran her little hand over her mother's legs. "Why aren't they furry anymore, Mommy?"

Stifling her giggle, Lindsay turned down to face her daughter. "Furry?"

"Well, prickly... like Daddy's face... why are they smooth now, Mommy?"

"Well feel," Lindsay said, "Aren't smooth legs nicer than furry?" She giggled as she helped her daughter run her little hand over her leg.

"Hmm," Lucy considered it for a moment before nodding. "Mommy?"

"Yeah baby?"

"What's that thing you did? With that thing?"

"I'll tell you when you're a little older, okay?"

"Is it part of your presents to Daddy?"

Lindsay cleared her throat. "You know Lu, I forgot, did Mommy give you a chocolate Valentine's Day cupcake earlier?"

"No," Lucy shook her head adamantly. "You promised you would!"

Quickly towel-drying, Lindsay pulled her leggings back down over her legs as she guided her daughter out of the bathroom and into the hallway; relief washing over her at the U-turn she'd managed to take on the conversation.

As they made their way into the kitchen, she settled her daughter on her booster seat at the table and then made work on unwrapping the cupcake's casing and placed it on a plate for her daughter smiling to herself as she did so.

Not even having to work the late shift was going to ruin today.

* * *

"Kiddo, look no, come on look here; Daddy wrote all your classmate's names out. You just have to copy them."

"But that's not fun," Lucy stomped her foot as she chucked the Pink crayon she was holding to the floor. "I want to draw a picture for them!"

"But that's not what you do in cards, kiddo." He explained to her. "You write them a message."

"But saying 'from Lucy' is boring Daddy; they can't even read it!"

"Oh, and you can?"

"Yes! The first bit is just their name and I can read 'from Lucy' duh, it is my name Daddy," She informed him, matter-of-factly. "I'm bored of this now," she huffed, shoving the stack of cards and envelopes away from her. "I don't want to do it no more!"

"But when you go tomorrow you won't be able to hand them out."

"So?" She huffed as she folded her arms over her chest. "I don't care!"

"You will when you're getting lots of cards from all your friends and you don't get to give any out."

Contemplating her options, Lucy sighed as she picked up the pink crayon she'd thrown whilst having her tantrum. She flopped onto the floor, next to her father as he re-arranged the cards and names of her classmates in front of her.

"You're so much like your Mom," he told her after she'd settled down with her card writing.

"Huh?" She turned to face him, crayon poised over the card she was about to write. "Mommy doesn't like writing Valentine's Day cards either?"

"Well... no," he backtracked a little. "When she gets frustrated with Daddy she stomps her foot too."

"Mommy does?" Lucy giggled in awe.

"All the time," Danny nodded. "She puts her hands on her hips like this too," Danny demonstrated from his position on the floor. "And then stomps her foot. Just like you," he teased prodding his daughter's little button nose. "You're too similar sometimes."

"But I looks like you!" Lucy grinned.

"You might but you definitely got your mother's mannerisms."

"What's one of 'dem?"

"Them," Danny emphasised the 'th', something that had proved to be difficult for him; stressing the need to talk properly to a toddler when he didn't even talk properly himself. "It's just the way Mommy acts."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

Lucy shrugged. "Why?"

"We're not playing the why game, kiddo." Danny smirked as he leant against the couch and stretched. "Sorry."

"Why?"

"Because Daddy... and here we go again. Lu, you know the Why game makes Daddy sad."

Frowning, Lucy turned back to her stack of cards that seemed not to be getting any smaller no matter how many she wrote. "Daddy, my handy is hurting," she sniffled. "Can you write them?"

"But Lu, they're supposed to be from you. Not Lucy's Daddy."

"Play make-believe!" She exclaimed.

"So I gotta pretend they're from you, but really they're from me?"

Lucy fluttered her eyelashes and wiggled close to her father and sat herself on his lap. "I wub you Dada,"

"Oh kid," Danny sighed. "Smush me where you know it hurts."

"Smush," Lucy giggled. "That's a silly word, Daddy."

"Well, you're a silly goose but you don't see me whining." He teased his daughter before taking the pink crayon and looking at the way Lucy had written the seven other cards she'd managed to write in the half hour stint that they'd had together. "Ugh, right, let's give this a try. You gonna watch Lu?"

"Mhmm," she nodded, laying her head on the table and watching intensely to Danny's hand movements as he scrawled over the cards.

"I swear, never thought I'd be writing thirty Valentine's Day cards in pink crayon after the age of seven."

"Huh?" Lucy cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Never mind kiddo," Danny smirked. "You just... you just watch me, k?"

"Okies!" she squealed.

* * *

Twenty long minutes later, Danny let out an accomplished sigh of relief as he threw the blunt pink crayon down to the table top. "Halleluiah!" He cried.

Looking up from where she had wandered off to, Lucy pulled a face at her father's outburst.

"Hey, you're the reason Daddy's got cramp in his hand." Danny whined pathetically, cradling his aching wrist to his chest. "You and some Irish mobsters..."

Shaking off her father completely, Lucy turned and continued playing with her latest favourite toy. "Can I call Mommy?"

"You wanna call Mom? Sure, I guess we can." Danny shrugged. "See how work is going for her."

"YAY!" Lucy squealed, scrambling across the messy living room to reach her father. "Me dial!" Lucy squealed. "Me!"

"Hey, whoa whoa whoa there a second, Missy. Let me see your hands." He turned her hands up and gasped at her dirty palms. "Ain't no way your touching my cell with hands like yours, we're gonna clean them and I'll dial Mommy's number and you can press the green button, k?"

"Okies," Lucy sighed dramatically as she sulked off to go and wash her hands, Danny hot on her tail.

* * *

Laying her head down on her desk, Lindsay Messer let out a long defeated sigh. Her mood from earlier had taken a drastic U-turn, and her happy and joyful outlook on today was being quashed as each minute passed.

Hawkes had snapped at her, _for a change_. Jo was off with Mac. Mac was being all high and mighty on the latest case to which he was working on. Adam was backlogged in the AV lab, leaving her analysis on the bottom of his pile; thus leaving her at a dead end with no one to bring her out of her self-pity mode.

She'd tried to be methodical and pragmatic about the case, but she couldn't help her assumptions judging by the evidence that she'd collected. Her assumptions were that rather than foul play, the elevator accident she'd been working in an apartment building was simply a mechanical fault, not tampered with like Hawkes had instantly expected and assumed; thus sparking their argument. She'd stormed off, fed up with him and his insistence that he was right. She didn't want to be at work today anymore than what he did and the last thing she wanted was to make what was turning out to be a slow shift a hostile one.

She cast her mind back to the scene and how she stopped her evidence collection and instead listened to Flack and his interview with the young mother who'd had her foot almost in the elevator, but stepped back as she searched for her cell phone in and amongst her masses of bags. The elevator's doors had barely closed before it went plummeting to the basement. The young mother had been both devastated and in a state of shock; relieved obviously her phone had rang out at that very moment, but devastated for the loss of two young teens, simply running to the store for ice cream and then onto Blockbuster to get a movie to share for the night.

It just struck home to Lindsay that the two people on the elevator could have been her and Danny, or alternatively she could have been the young mother, riddled with a stroller and masses of bags, running to the bodega with her daughter.

Either way, her ability to compartmentalise had been shot to hell today.

Fluffing her bangs and making herself look at least slightly presentable, she steeled herself as she fired up the case's documents to analyse and read through as an attempt to kill some time before Adam could get back to her. Just as her fingers made contact with her keyboard, her office phone rang out, startling her.

"Detective Messer."

"Hey Linds, it's just us... I got someone here that's desperate to speak to you babe. We're not interrupting anything are we?"

"Danny," she gushed down the phone, "No, no... you're not... no. I... I really needed to talk to you guys."

"Tough day?" he inquired, judging by the tone of her voice.

"You could say that," she sighed. "Did you manage to-"

"-Mommy?"

"Hey Lu," She giggled at the sounds of a frustrated Danny in the background, growling at their daughter for snatching the phone from him. "You driving Daddy crazy?"

"Yep," The toddler giggled down the line. "Mommy, I miss you."

"Aw baby," Lindsay sighed heavily. "I miss you too, sweetie. Are you having fun with Daddy?"

"No," she huffed, with what Lindsay could only assume was a stomp of the foot. "He made me _write_ my cards. I wanted to draw, Mommy."

"Well, I'm sure Daddy told you that in cards we write messages to our friends, right?"

"Yep," Lucy sighed sadly. "But he helped me."

"He did?" Lindsay asked, switching the ear she was holding the phone against. "How did he help you Lu?"

"He wrote them."

"Can I speak to Daddy?"

"Sure!" There was a pause as Lucy passed the phone across to her father. "It's for you Daddy."

"Thanks," He muttered, and then took a good few seconds to finally greet Lindsay again. "Hey baby."

"Why did you write her cards?" Lindsay sighed. "Dan, c'mon. You're such a freakin' push over."

"Oh Linds, lighten up babe, she was fed up and it was a lot to ask of her to write thirty damn cards. She's what, coming up to three? She's got better things to do with her time. It's stupid if you ask me anyway. It's not as if we don't shell out enough money to that place anyway."

"Allow me to remind you who wanted to send her to the school we did? Who was it – you?"

"Beyond the point," he huffed.

"Didn't you send Valentine's Day cards to your classmates, Danny?"

"Yeah, every year till I was like seven. Hated it... with a passion. Waste of damn money if you ask me."

Taking a deep breath, Lindsay tried to calm herself. She didn't want to inflict her bad mood on her husband, even if his grouchiness wasn't very appealing at present. "Well, next year I'll make sure I do her cards with her, okay?"

"Good," he huffed. "So, what's going on then? You caught a tough case?"

"It's not even really a case. It was just an accident... but ugh. I'm waiting for my analysis to go through so I can prove my theory and it's just a load of shit," she sniffled, her emotions threatening to overcome her. "And then of course Adam is piled under about fifty tonnes worth of paperwork and other stuff he needs to get through for the case that Mac's working... so little old Lindsay's at the bottom of the totem pole and has to sit and twiddle her damn thumbs and leave the two teenagers on the slab in autopsy and face their parents with no definite answers."

"Babe, I'm sorry" Danny sighed sympathetically. "That sucks... do you feel like you need another hand? I could always-"

"No, it's fine," She cut him off. "There's no need."

"But if Adam's stuck, I could come in and help out..."

"You've hit your overtime limit this month already and it's only the fourteenth, Danny." Lindsay reminded him. "In fact, Mac was in earlier telling me you were over already... So I don't think it's very wise."

"Got'cha," he sighed, accepting defeat. "If there's anything you want from me-"

"I'll let you know," she finished. "I better go," she sighed.

"Alright, I'll speak to you later k?"

"Alright," she sighed. "Bye Danny,"

"Hey wait, Montana!" Danny called down the line as she hovered the phone over the cradle. "Babe?"

"Yeah I'm still here, what's up?"

"I love you," he said softly, sparking a flurry of butterflies in the pit of her stomach. "And keep that chin up Montana, k? You're doing good."

"Thanks Danny," she smiled, despite his inability to see her. "I needed that."

"I thought you might have. I'll see you later, hope things get better."

"Me too," she sighed. "Love you," She hung the phone up and let out a long, laboured sigh.

_You can do this!_

_

* * *

_

Straightening his back as he tip-toed down the eerily deserted hallway, Danny let out a puff of air as he made his way from the elevator to his and Lindsay's shared office. What he desperately wanted was for his presence to go undetected so he could come, do what he'd intended to do and be gone.

_Almost like a ninja_, he thought to himself with a grin slowly creeping across his face.

He finally found himself outside his office door and rapped his knuckles on the glass lightly, not wanting to startle his wife as she slaved away over the stack of paperwork that had attacked her desk.

"Hey Montana," he said quietly, making himself known to her as he let himself into the office.

"Danny?" she gasped and turned quickly in her seat. "What are... what are you doing here?"

"Well, if the mountain won't come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain."

"What's that?" Lindsay asked, pointing to the brown paper bag that he held clutched in his hand.

"Dinner," he smiled. "Nothing spectacular by any means, but figured it'd be nice for you to have something nice for dinner, and I didn't know whether you'd have any time to take a break."

Smiling, Lindsay ran her fingers over Danny's torso. "That's really sweet. Thanks, babe."

"My Ma dished some of whatever she made my Pop tonight. Dropped Lu off. She didn't even notice that I was leaving, stung a little bit. She's growing up, you know."

"Yeah," Lindsay sighed heavily. "She's not so little anymore."

"Real firework." Danny chuckled. "Gotta watch her all the time."

"Usually that's the idea when you have a toddler."

"Yeah I know," he sighed. "I just remember the days where she'd sit on my lap and be quite content with just chillin' with her Dad for hours."

"For you maybe," Lindsay scoffed, contemplating eating, but casting the brown paper bag and it's contents to the side as she continued on with her workload. "She's been on the go with me since the day she was born."

"You love it," Danny reminded her. "You said that's how you lost all your baby weight; from chasing her around."

"Yep," Lindsay nodded as she scanned a document before typing up some notes on her current file she was working on.

"How's it coming along?" Danny inquired as he settled in his desk chair, arranging some of the files on his desk. "Can you see the end?"

"What does it look like?" She implored. "Does the state of my desk suggest I'm anywhere near the end?"

"No..." Danny shrugged. "I guess not. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not really." She shook her head. "I just... I have a lot of... well, you know."

Danny nodded in understanding. "I do. Oh babe, did I tell you that I paid the electricity bill yesterday? And then the cable bill is coming out next week. I called the cell phone company too and they said that-"

"Danny," she snapped. "I don't have the time for domestic stuff right now, okay?"

"I know babe, but if I don't tell you now, I'm gonna forget."

"I don't care!" she growled at him. "Write it on a post-it," she chucked a pad at him. "can't you see that I'm run off my feet right now?"

"I asked if you wanted any help with stuff babe,"

"Danny," she sighed. "You know from earlier that I'm stressed; now isn't the time."

"So? I thought seeing me might lift your spirits. Especially after how excited you were for tonight."

"You've gotta be kidding Danny, tonight? My tonight is going to be here trying to pull all my loose ends together."

"Well, I could always-"

"For goodness sake Danny, go home!"

Taken aback slightly at her harsh and abrupt demeanour, Danny straightened his back in the chair and leant forward. "Look Linds, I get that you're stressed but I'm only trying to help."

"I don't _need _you Danny," she snapped at him. "I'm perfectly capable of doing this by myself, thanks very much."

"I wasn't insinuating that you _needed_ me, what I meant was that it's just nice sometimes to have the other here you know... someone that'll listen and be impartial, but will really be on your side."

"I don't have time to talk or impartial talks, Danny. I have a case to solve."

"Linds, I get that okay. I do... but you need to chill out babe, you're getting way too worked up with something that you don't need to. This isn't in your control okay? There's nothing more you can do other than what you're doing, so stop beating yourself up about it."

"So says you!" She growled. "Look Danny, I appreciate you bringing me dinner and everything, but you need to just go on home and we'll see each other later, okay? I need to get this done. Mac wants this wrapped up tonight and I have shit loads that I need to do."

"See, that's the thing Linds, if you let me help you-"

"I, Danny. I have shit loads that _I_ need to do. Not us. Not we. Not you. Me. It's me that has shit loads to do, so please... just go home and I'll see you later."

Sighing heavily, Danny placed both his hands on the desk, steadying himself as he pushed himself out of the desk chair. "Fine," he sighed. "Alright... I'll drop this in the break-room then," he said picking up the brown paper bag. "Clearly you're not hungry right now, so it'll be there when you want it, k?"

"Fine," she huffed at him, her eyes not leaving the screen.

"I'll see you later," he pressed a kiss to the top of her head and ran his hand down her arm affectionately. "If you need me, call, k?"

"Yes Danny, if I need you I'll call. Don't wait up for me... I'll probably be late."

"Alright," Danny nodded. "See you later then."

"See y-" Lindsay cringed as she heard the glass door slam behind him as he left the office and stormed down the hallway. She turned and watched him over her shoulder as he made his way into the break-room and shoved her dinner on the counter before doubling back on himself and jabbed the elevator button with a considerable amount of force.

Lindsay threw her pen onto the desk and let out a frustrated sigh. That was the last thing she had wanted to do, but yet, she couldn't stop herself. She couldn't just accept his help and get the paperwork completed in half the time. No, she had to be an awkward little thing and refuse his concern and help. And for what? _Not a lot of anything,_ she thought.

* * *

Stumbling around in the darkened bedroom, Lindsay let out a defeated sigh as she dropped her shirt on the floor. The rest of her shift had been hellish.

Actually, that was probably an understatement.

She made her way, aided by the moonlight filtering in through the curtains, to her chest of drawers containing her pyjamas. She went to grab her pair she usually wore, but paused. She shut her drawer and turned to grab Danny's discarded sweater that he'd worn throughout the day and pulled it over her head. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself before glancing at her sleeping husband; lying so that he was facing her. He looked so peaceful and calm; which was something far from what she was currently feeling.

She climbed into bed and shivered slightly at the cool touch to her side of the bed. She shuffled towards Danny's body and tucked herself neatly into his frame and laid her head on his pillow. Quite frankly, she felt horrible. She'd been terrible earlier. She'd yelled, been horrifically mean and bitched at him for doing what, on a good day, would have been very much appreciated by her. And while she didn't want him to wake up because despite the fact she'd been a bitch, he'd worry at her returning home at such a late hour... but she really, really, _really_ wanted a hug and a kiss, and for him to tell her that everything was okay between them.

She wiggled further into his body wrapping their duvet around her; in hopes that she tugged it off him a little so that he woke and tugged it back.

She waited for a moment; she knew he was either awake, or he was slowly waking up judging by his breathing.

"If you're listening to my breathing to figure out whether I'm asleep or not, allow me to save you the trouble," he chuckled against her neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her backwards into his body. "I'm not."

"Thank you for that, Einstein." She teased lightly, her voice full of the devastation she was feeling. "Danny, I'm so sorry."

"Montana," he whispered against her shoulder. "Don't even worry about it, okay?"

"Danny, I was horrible."

"So?" He shrugged. "You're allowed to be bitchy now and then," he teased her. "You were stressed and I get that. I didn't take it personally... Well, I might have done to begin with, but I know you were frustrated and upset... you weren't specifically upset and frustrated with me. I just got the brunt of it, and that's okay babe."

"No it isn't," she whimpered. "I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

"So what?" he shrugged against her, wrapping her even tighter in his arms. "Sometimes as your husband, I've gotta take one for our team and just go with it. Honestly Linds, I'm fine... to be honest, I'm more concerned about you; how was work? Did it get any better?"

Remaining silent, Lindsay merely let out a long laboured sigh; the signs of a hard day finally taking it's toll on her.

"Not good then?" He lamented.

"Not really... I mean it didn't get any better, but it got no worse. I'm just making a big deal out of nothing, that's all."

"Oh please, as soon as I smelt my sweater instead of your jammies I knew something wasn't right. I'm a Dad now; I can tell when things aren't right with my girls. What's the matter? You okay?"

Lindsay let out a breath as she snuggled even further into Danny's protective frame. "Not really."

"What happened after I left?"

Lindsay shrugged as she laced her fingers through Danny's before laying them on their bed in front of her.

"I'm sorry, wanna try that again?" Danny teased softly. "What happened, babe?"

She hesitated for a moment before whispering. "Can you just hold me instead?"

"Hmm?" he whispered before pressing a kiss to her temple.

"Just... I'll feel better if you just hold me." She explained. "Just till I fall asleep; I always feel better after cuddles..."

"A cuddle huh, I think we could afford to dish out some cuddles." As he whispered in her ear, he wrapped his arms tightly around her small frame and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Whatever it is that's eating you up so much babe you need to let it go, it's over now."

"That's easier said than done, Dan," She whispered.

"No I know that it's easier said than done, but it's gotta be done babe. There ain't nothing more you can do. You've solved the case. You've done all that you can. Nobody can ask more of you than that."

"It's not that, I know I've done a good job and I've closed it... and all of that, it's just tough, you know? Sometimes you can't shut off."

"Sometimes you can't," he agreed. "But sometimes you've gotta."

She sighed in response.

"Now, you don't gotta tell me what happened if you don't wanna," he whispered. "I just want ya to know that if you do wanna get it off your chest, you know where I am."

She thought about it for a second, and as her thoughts ran in her mind, a mile a minute. She let out a sigh as his arm made its way to cross over her chest, pulling her protectively into him and holding her in place. His arms were the perfect amour for everything that was getting to her from the outside world.

"This hasn't exactly been the Valentine's Day I had planned on."

"Babe," Danny sighed, "what do I tell you _every_ year?"

"That we shouldn't put all our energy into one day, and we need to spread it out over the entire year." She sighed. "But still, I had a whole you know... night planned. And I'm the one that's come home in tears after cancelling our night in the first place."

"Hey, hey..." he chastised her. "Come on now, you don't think I understand? Babe, so long as I've got you right here, that's all that matters. It don't matter what the date is. We can go out any night of the year."

"But I shaved my legs," she complained lamely.

"And what? They won't grow back overnight," Danny teased. "We can still _you know_," he nudged her, "tomorrow when you're feeling more like yourself."

"I just... I feel like I crushed our plans. I was so excited about having the night to ourselves and stuff. I wanted it to be special."

"It's always special, babe." He told her. "Just because it's Valentine's Day doesn't mean it makes it any more special or important."

"I know but... you always put so much effort into it, despite disagreeing with it, and this year I wanted to do something nice for you and look at how that turned out. I haven't even given you your presents or anything."

"Lu told me you didn't get me anything."

"I told her to say that," Lindsay blushed. "I wanted it to be a surprise for when it was just me and you."

"Babe," he sighed. "Don't beat yourself up about this, okay?"

"I'm not," she lied.

"I can tell in your voice, Linds. I can tell your upset about today. Montana, you gotta let it go. So what if it wasn't a perfect day. We've got a million more together."

"I just wanted it to go the way I wanted it to."

"Well you know what, I'm glad it didn't." He told her. "It's given me the chance to just lay here with you; sometimes all I want is a cuddle."

"And this is coming from the self-proclaimed non-cuddler."

"Things change," he whispered in her ear. "Like me, when I met you."

Even though their room was dark, Danny could tell that a smile had finally stretched across her face.

"Just forget about today, okay babe? We'll have a better day tomorrow, I promise you. Okay?"

"Okay," she whispered as she pressed a kiss to his arm that was holding her protectively.

Letting herself slowly succumb to sleep, she heard Danny's calming and comforting words. It was exactly what she needed as she quickly cascaded into a world of dreams; held by the one person in the entire world that could make anything better. He was there for her when she needed someone to rant at or to. She treasured him and loved him for everything that he did for her... but when things got tough, he was there when she needed a punch-bag, and he was there to wipe her tears. He was there for her no matter what her worry was.

And she couldn't ask for anyone better to spend the rest of her life with.

* * *

**There we have it - hope you guys liked it and I hope it was up to scratch for you Julie! :) **

**Thanks for reading guys! **


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